Main Street florists battle against start-ups

This year Americans will spend $2.1 billion on flowers for Valentine's Day alone. But the battle for holiday-related spending is getting fiercer than ever as small business florists face increasing competition from e-commerce players and big box retailers.

While overall spending on flowers has remained stable, smaller florists have seen sales slide nearly 40 percent in the past few years to $5.9 billion in 2014 from $9.4 billion in 2006. Large e-commerce players have been in the space for years, including FTD, 1-800-Flowers and ProFlowers. Now supermarkets and big retailers are getting in on the flower action

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And the flower space continues to grow with more players. AngelList, which compiles start-up data, says there are 30 new flower businesses in the U.S. alone including BloomThat and UrbanStems, which delivers flowers on demand in select cities within hours, for around $35.

And this year Whole Foods is partnering with grocery delivery start-up InstaCart in 15 cities to deliver flowers on demand for $25, plus an delivery fee.